Merry Christmas 2016 – Was Jesus born on December 25th?

Was Jesus born on December 25th?
The birth of Jesus Christ is pretty much the most basic element of the Christmas story. From common carols to the imagery of the nativity scene, the idea that Christmas is his birthday is everywhere. History convincingly shows that December 25 was popularized as the date for Christmas, not because Christ was born on that day, but because it was already popular in pagan religious celebrations as the birthday of the sun. But what’s commonly accepted by those who observe the holiday isn’t exactly true to history, according to Mark Goodacre, a professor in the Duke University Department of Religion.

The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke are the only accounts of Jesus’ birth in the New Testament. Even accepting their word as the truth, each tells a different story—Luke’s starting in Nazareth and Matthew’s focused solely on events in Bethlehem—and neither is particularly detailed in terms of calendar dates. “It’s a tough one really because there is just so little in Matthew’s and Luke’s birth narratives. The gospel writers very rarely tell you when things happened and the time of year,” Goodacre says. “You don’t get any official detail so we’re in the dark really on that.”

Scholars often point out that Luke’s gospel cites that there were shepherds in the field on the first Christmas, which suggests Jesus was not born in winter. “There’s also the idea that Mary and Joseph would have embarked on an epic journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in the middle of winter with Mary being pregnant, which seems really implausible,” Goodacre says.

Factors:1. We know from the Bible, Luke 2: 7-8, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night, that the shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth. Shepherds were not in the fields during December. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night.

2. From Luke 2: 1-4, In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David, we know that Jesus’ parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census. Such censuses were not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating.

If Jesus wasn’t born on December 25, does the Bible Indicate when He was born?The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus’ birth, based on the conception and birth of John the Baptist.
Since Elizabeth (John’s mother) was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:24-36), 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”The Birth of Jesus Foretold26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God.31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month,we can determine the approximate time of year Jesus was born if we know when John was born. John’s father, Zacharias, was a priest serving in the Jerusalem temple during the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5). Historical calculations indicate this course of service corresponded to June 13-19 in that year.
It was during this time of temple service that Zacharias learned that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child (Luke 1:8-13). After he completed his service and traveled home, Elizabeth conceived (Luke 1:23-24). Assuming John’s conception took place near the end of June, adding nine months brings us to the end of March as the most likely time for John’s birth. Adding another six months (the difference in ages between John and Jesus) brings us to the end of September as the likely time of Jesus’ birth.
Also, there’s a video by Darris McNeely that explains in detail “When Was Jesus Born?”

The point of when Jesus was born is strictly to shed some light and fun on the subject. The most obvious fact about all of this is that it really doesn’t matter when Jesus was born. What really matters is that He was born on earth, came to us as our Savior, died on the cross to save all of us from sin so we can have eternal life with Him one day, to have peace in heaven with Him. All of our blessings and glory are because of Him. In light of this, I say… Practice the Awareness of His Immediate Presence. He is with us, always.

From me and my family, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. May all of your wishes, hopes & dreams come true.

When it comes to finding the right real estate agent, who gets the price RIGHT the first time, there is none better than a Realtor like Laura Hill at Local Katy Realty who cares & fights for her clients. https://www.localkatyrealty.com